Research and Reports

The younger a teen-ager was when he or she first used one
drug--including cigarettes or alcohol--the higher the number of
different substances the teen-ager now reports using, a new study has
found. But, the researchers who conducted the study caution, the use of
one drug does not necessarily lead to abuse of others.

The research, directed by Carol Mills, a psychologist at Franklin
and Marshall College, involved the study of 4,400 boys and girls in
Maryland public schools between 1978 and 1980. Together with Harvey
Noyes, a psychologist with Citicorp Financial Inc., Ms. Mills
questioned 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students about their use of
drugs.

The survey showed that alcohol was the most commonly used drug, with
67 percent of 8th graders, 81 percent of 10th graders, and 87 percent
of 12th graders reporting alcohol consumption. Marijuana was the most
commonly used illicit drug, with nearly half the 10th and 12th graders
reporting marijuana use. Six percent of the 8th graders and 19 percent
of the 12th graders said they smoked it several times a week.

Only a small number of high-school students move from marijuana to
hard drugs, but those who do become involved in using those drugs
rarely do so without experimenting first with marijuana, the
psychologists found.

Those who used drugs had lower grades, more spending money, and were
less certain about their plans for future education than those who did
not use drugs. The researchers note, however, that the lower grades may
have preceded use of drugs, as has been found in other studies.

The study was published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, April 1984.

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